Pairing Physicians and Engineers to Improve Health

About the Coulter Program

The University of Missouri Coulter Translational Partnership Program (MU Coulter Program) began in 2012 as a 5-year, $5 million partnership between MU and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation. In 2016, MU committed $4 million to continue funding the program through 2022. The MU Coulter Program capitalizes on the best of academia and industry to accelerate the translation of biomedical innovations into products that improve patient care. The program bridges the gap between academic research and industry by providing funding to engineer-clinician teams. These teams perform experiments to generate data that subsequently attract the professional funding needed to continue commercialization of the technology.

Program Success

Since its inception in 2012, the MU Coulter Program has awarded more than $3.3 million in bridge grant funding to 26 projects and has awarded more than $400,000 in seed grant funding to 18 projects. A total of 64 technical and clinical investigators have received Coulter funding. These investments have led to $13.5 million in new government grants and $2.0 million in professional funding (angel investment, venture capital). In addition, the MU Coulter Program Office has provided business advice to another 100+ technical and clinical investigators on more than 120 projects. The Program has had four “Coulter wins”. These include two start-ups that have each raised more than $500,000 and two Coulter technologies that have been successfully licensed to established companies that are continuing commercialization of the technology.

The MU Coulter program makes a significant and growing impact on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in mid-Missouri.

As there are only 16 universities in the world with Coulter Programs, the MU Coulter Program is an important differentiator for MU.